It has been slightly over a year since I last posted a blog. A lot of changes both professionally and personally have occurred since June 2012. I thought I would make this initial blog posting for 2013 one of reflection and catching up. I suppose the best way is to jump right in sharing images and updates.

• Launched refreshed website on 1 June 2013 www.lmkinteriorsltd.com – so happy to have had family and friends contribute their talents and time to make this refreshing change to my site. More images to be uploaded in the coming weeks of completed projects.

• I will be participating in Art Grows Here with a pouring paint installation July 12- 21, 2013 at 77 Main Street Wenham

• volunteered with Habitat for Humanity – NorthShore’s Women Build event building a duplex home in Danvers, MA.

• took on a seasonal part time position at the newly opened The Container Store in Peabody late November (decided to stay on since it is such a fun place to work).

•lmk interiors, ltd. took over entire space at 77 Main Street in October when Matt Ulrich and Rebecca Bachand moved their offices to Beverly. I have installed a beautiful kitchen vignette to showcase the cabinetry line I am representing. Please stop in to see the changes to the space – I love pop in visits!

• completed several kitchen and master bathroom renovations, living room furniture installations along with many window treatment installations. (check out the website for more images)

• participated in the Wenham Museum’s Annual Heart of the Home Kitchen tour event with one of my client’s beautiful kitchens that I had the privilege of designing.

Lisa Kawski

• my son graduated from RIT May 2012 and is currently working at Spine Frontier in Beverly, MA as an industrial designer.

• traveled to Playa del Carmen, Mexico with my family (highlights included zip lining and snorkeling with sea turtles)

• to celebrate turning 50, I traveled to: NYC to celebrate with grade school girlfriends, to the Berkshires with my sisters and recently to Amherst with husband and college friends. (the year is not up yet, still some traveling to do)

• attended several car shows – featuring beautiful antique classics.

• discovered the joy in the music of Sugarman (Jesus Rodriguez) and the movie Searching for Sugarman.

• been doing standing Pilates, Nia dance and several yoga classes and continuing to eat the Paleo way as best as possible – no gluten, lean proteins, lots of veggies & fruit (have not cut out the dark chocolate)

• got my motorcycle license (no, I do not have a bike – yet!)

(a girl can dream)

Here’s to a great summer filled with wonderful projects and new adventures! Please check out the website and stop in for a visit if you see my car out front!

It began last winter with me knitting a scarf for my youngest daughter. A friend had knit a scarf with pomp-a-doodle yarn and said it wasn’t that difficult to do and it actually didn’t even take that long to knit with this particular type of yarn. Fast and economical fashion – count me in. And so it began – it started with that scarf, then two more pom pom scarves this holiday season for my other daughter and her college room mate, then a cowl for myself (again with the pom pom yarn), then creating a scarf with the pom pom yarn mixed with a fringe yarn, and the latest, a scarf with a “ruffle” yarn. I can’t seem to stop and I have only created neck attire!

I posted the images of my creations on Facebook and inquired if there was a way to somehow connect my new hobby with my blog postings. Several friends weighed in with interesting thoughts-

Kate: Are you working with eco-friendly yarns (non-toxic dyes, natural fibers, etc), which would give you a link to “green” material choices for interiors — or maybe there’s a fun way to use knitted pieces as a design element? Or maybe there’s a metaphor in the whole process of knitting — you untangle a mess of yarn, and turn a single strand of wool into a unified piece (like working with disparate design elements and turning them into a pleasing and unified room design)?

Donna: Have you seen Norah Gaughan’s book Knitting Nature? Very “green” and fascinating way to design- reminds me of Bachelard’s book The Poetics of Space on home design.

I liked both of these suggestions, but it was Leah’s reply that captured my attention: Check this out- I just saw an article on it recently. I’m not entirely sure as to how it would tie in, but it did pop in to my mind… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarn_bombing.

According to Wikipedia: Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.

How cool. Yarn bombers target anything they find from sleeves on parking meters, trees, statues, to cars and buses. Like most graffiti artists, this group of knitters often tag in the middle of the night. Some troupes wear crocheted masks while they work, and although it is technically illegal, the police have yet to make any knitter arrests.

I am not sure if I connected urban knitting with green interior design, (other than showing some interiors covered in knit and crochet slipcovers), but I did share an art form that is gaining in popularity and world recognition. Hopefully, you have seen something unique and inspiring and find it as interesting as I have. If you have any knitting/crocheting queries, please feel free to contact me at design@lmkinteriorsltd.com. I will try my best to be of assistance.

It started with my mother’s Better Homes and Gardens back in the late 60’s early 70’s. Thumbing through them after she had finished looking at that month’s issue. Cutting out the pages of things I had liked and anticipating applying the ideas in my first apartment. I would make collages with images based on color. Pages of things of various shades of blues, greens and of course – purples. I never really liked oranges, yellows or reds – back then…

After I had graduated from design school and moved to Massachusetts, I began receiving my own issues of Better Homes and Garden each month in the mail. I then added Metropolitan Home and Architectural Digest. Martha Stewart came and went and as I glance over at the bookcase in my office now: stacks of Home, Domino (2005-2009) and House and Garden date back to 2006. The largest collection is Natural Home from May 2007 to this month’s issue. I also have an IKEA brochure for each year dating back to 2006.

I love turning the pages and looking through old as well as contemporary issues. It offers inspiration for layouts, color palettes and overall design that I can share with clients. The only difference now is that I can view most of the magazines I have mentioned on the internet. I only subscribe to one magazine: Natural Home and Garden.

Several of these magazines are no longer published nor do they have websites, but I did want to share a few that I enjoy viewing. On any of these sites you can type in green interior design, eco-friendly design or sustainable design in the search window and find a wealth of ideas.

Metropolitan Home ceased publication in 2009, but a website with all of the archived issues and new inspirations can be found at http://www.elledecor.com/. The plus: there are so many categories to find a multitude of ideas; the negative: one can get lost on the website for HOURS! I find this to be true on most of the following websites. My advice is to limit your searches to an hour at a time.

As I have shared, my Natural Home and Garden magazine is my largest collection. Mainly because it offers a wealth of information on green design. It showcases renovations and new construction as well as providing information on sustainable and recycled products for use in the home as building materials and purposeful and decorative products. I enjoy using their website, but I still love turning the pages and dog-earring things I like and might use on my next project!

Through Facebook I have found some great websites (blogs) that keep me posted with innovative products and design ideas as well. By subscribing to them, I get their posts on my news feed and can click for the latest informative tidbit.

It’s early morning on a sunny, warm Sunday in April, and I am pulling out of my driveway with cash in hand before the rest of my family have even opened their eyes. I have a purpose. I need a rocking chair for my porch. I have a destination. Todd Farm, a flea market, located in Rowley, MA. ( www.toddfarm.com ) It has been a New England fixture for 37 years. I have been going there for the past 15 years. I am looking forward to strolling up and down the aisles created in a field in search of my rocking chair. I also look forward to talking with the vendors about the histories of the objects they are selling and possibly claiming a “find”. To me, this is an enjoyable shopping experience.

Flea markets are not for everyone. Many would prefer a clean store with brand name items displayed in an orderly fashion with price tags showing the cost. Don’t get me wrong, I shop there too. But for those of us that enjoy the search for that “perfect object”, haggling over price, getting some dust on our shoes and even walking away from the item is worth a few hours spent outside at a flea market, yard sale or antique store. I have great stories from my visits to The Brimfield Antique and Flea Market (www.Brimfield.com ), Salt Marsh Antiques (www.saltmarshantiques.com ) and a great store in Newburyport called Flukes, Finds and Friends located at 70 State Street. You can also shop online at eBay, Craig’s list or freecycle.com in the comfort of your own home!

For me, the pleasure of searching for the item is just as rewarding as actually finding and purchasing it. I am learning that with most things in my life, it is really the process work that provides me with that satisfying feeling in the end. As with most purchases, you should do your due diligence in researching the value of the object compared to the amount you are willing to pay for the condition it is in. I have bought many items that were “damaged”, but the value I saw in them from an emotional standpoint weighed in their favor. I also know that I have the resources available to have repairs made to an item. Whether those repairs are made by my husband, me or a professional, restoring an item to its beauty can be very satisfying. To me, there is something special about having something withstand many years of use and shared by many people. Maybe that is why I live in a 110 year old house and drive a 40 year old car!

I am not sure if I purchased my rocking chair that day at Todd Farm. I do know that over the course of many years I have purchased at least 6 old rocking chairs that I have lovingly painted or my husband has restored. I have also found beautiful depression glass items that are worthy of being collectibles; however, to me they are functional objects of beauty that I love to use when we are entertaining. Along with furniture; clothing, artwork, pottery, and even toys are some of the many items I have found at flea markets, antique stores, yard sales and even along the roadside on trash pick up days. This is the perfect time of year to get out there and find your special recycled objects with the warm weather. Please feel free to contact me if you find that wonderful piece that you have been looking for, but it needs some refreshing. I have valuable resources for upholstering, restoration/repair and creating painted furnishings. www.lmkinteriorsltd.com